This capability makes the arc jet test facility unique in the world, but it still can’t fully replicate the stresses a spacecraft’s heat shield undergoes during reentry. There are some things that are just unknowable until you fly, said Victor Glover, pilot of the Artemis II mission, in an interview with Ars earlier this year.
File photo showing arc jet testing of a spacecraft’s heat shield at Ames Research Center. Credit: NASA
“What we are doing now is assessing what is the appropriate approach for Artemis II, regarding the heat shield,” Glaze said Monday. “We know what
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